By: Jennifer McMillen Smith, LISW-S, HIV Social Worker at MetroHealth Medical Center and medically reviewed by Ann K. Avery, MD, Infectious Disease Physician at MetroHealth Medical Center
You already know how stressful it can be living with HIV in a world that doesn’t understand. Even with supportive people in your life, it’s easy to get lonely, especially if you’re dealing with a mental illness that’s lying to you. Life can get tough when you have a mental illness in addition to HIV because it means you have to spend even more time taking care of yourself.
Whether you’re dealing with anxiety, depression, stress, grief, PTSD, or any other mental health challenges, podcasts are an awesome way to help yourself in addition to therapy! There’s a podcast for everything nowadays, and they can teach you a ton of great stuff. We’re going to talk about seven mental health podcasts that will help you better understand your mental health and the best ways to take care of it.
Happier with Gretchen Rubin
Hosted by writer Gretchen Rubin and her sister, Elizabeth Craft, Happier with Gretchen Rubin is an advice podcast that teaches people how to create good habits and bring happiness into their lives. The podcast currently has more than 220 episodes.
Some of our favorites include:
The Hilarious World of Depression
Depression isn’t funny, right? Well, it can be when guests of the podcast are all comedians who have depression. Hosted by NPR correspondent, John Moe, The Hilarious World of Depression features frank and insightful discussions about depression.
A few good episodes to listen to include:
The Struggle Bus
Best friends Sally Tamarkin and Katherine Heller host The Struggle Bus podcast. While neither of them has professional mental health training, they do have a lot of insight for listeners who write them looking for advice. They feel that no problem is too big or too small for people to write in about.
Try listening to:
Mental Illness Happy Hour
Six years old, it’s possible that Mental Illness Happy Hour was the first podcast on mental illness to hit the internet. The weekly podcast is hosted by Paul Gilmartin and covers a ton of different mental health topics, such as dissociation, eating disorders, childhood issues, sex issues, and more. Doctors, comedians, artists, and even fans are guests on the show.
Listen to:
The Anxiety Slayer
If you’ve ever dealt with panic attacks, PTSD, anxiety, and stress, The Anxiety Slayer is a great podcast to check out. Hosts Shann Vander Leek and Ananga Sivyer teach meditation techniques and share different techniques to make your life more peaceful and relaxed.
Some good episodes to check out include:
- Simple ways to calm anxiety
- How to stop dwelling on unwanted thoughts and irrational fears
- Can creative activities help your anxiety?
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Health management tools with medication & appointment reminders.
Social networking in a community conversation & private chats.
Mentally Yours
Mentally Yours is a UK-based podcast hosted by Yvette Caster and Ellen Scott. Together, they talk about a variety of mental health topics, such as social anxiety, postnatal depression, and grief. Each episode includes a mystery guest!
A few episodes you need to give a listen are:
The Heart
Hosted by Kaitlin Prest, The Heart is a Peabody Award finalist about humanity and intimacy. The podcast itself is an audio art project and tells stories about sex, love, masculinity and femininity, grief, and so much more.
A few of our favorite episodes include:
Feel less alone by listening to podcasts
Living with HIV and mental illness can make life feel like a struggle at times. Episodes of depression or anxiety are unpredictable. Luckily, there are things that can help! A great support system, therapist, and sometimes antidepressants are traditional ways to address feelings of loneliness and sadness that sometimes might fill your heart inside. Podcasts are another way to help ease some of the pain and struggle that life can throw at us.
It may seem weird, but mental health podcasts can teach you a lot of great coping skills to use when things get rough. Featuring people with mental illnesses, they can also make you feel a lot less alone. It’s like having a friend directing all their attention to you and reassuring you that you are a strong person. You are loved. And you are worth it.
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